Microzooplankton from water samples collected from depths of between 10 and 50 m at four stations between 47° and 60°N along the 20°W line of longitude during each of three cruises were classified into taxonomic groups and measured to estimate their abundance and biomass. Metazoan members of the microzooplankton were rarely found and their overall biomass was negligible in comparison with protists. The mean numbers of protistan microzooplankton cells >15 μn ranged between 3 and 11 cells ml-1, with mean biomass values between 2 and 14 μgC 1-1. Numbers and biomass increased towards midsummer and then decreased again, except at the most northerly station where the values were highest in the early August sample. The ratio of dinoflagellate to ciliate biomass tended to increase through the summer to levels of three or four and then decrease again, with later changes further north; this ratio also tended to be higher at deeper levels than in the mixed layer. Gymnodinioid forms usually dominated dinoflagellate numbers and biomass, but they were overshadowed by Protoperidinium and others at the two southern stations in June and July samples. Strombidium species were the dominant ciliates, commonly providing 25–50% of total microzooplankton biomass, while predatory haptorid ciliates were occasionally numerous, but tintinnids never formed more than 10% of the biomass.

Ambergris is a rare substance produced in the intestines of sperm whales. It appears to result from an irritation caused by the beaks of the cephalopods on which they feed. The link between ambergris and whales, if not the mechanism by which ambergris is produced, has been addressed throughout history but, due to contradictory reports and fanciful explanations regarding its origin, only recently has it been widely accepted. Since ancient times ambergris has been used for medicinal purposes and in perfumes, but its supposed exotic properties are an important reason for the European demand for this substance. Accounts about ambergris from places where Europeans sailed since the 15th century are numerous. In the 16th and 17th centuries there were no laws dictating who owned the ambergris found on beaches and many pieces were sold or traded, legally or illegally, from overseas to Europe. However, this product was always obtained in relatively small quantities. More recently, with the advent of industrial whaling dedicated to sperm whaling conducted by several nations in various parts of the world during the 19th and 20th centuries, ambergris acquired an importance of its own and was sold at very high prices. In the Azores, ambergris from hunted sperm whales was documented; the same applies for Madeira and the Portuguese mainland. Being a product typically reported in whaling data and related to the economic exploitation of the sea, it is through the historical sources that its importance is clearly demonstrated.

We provide a review on scientific contributions concerned with Leptocaris (Harpacticoida: Copepoda) that includes the zoogeography, ecology, biology, and morphology of this genus. A tabular key is given to aid in the identification of the ignavus-group. Leptocaris ryukyuensis sp. nov. is included on the basis of specimens collected from Akeijima sandy beach of the Ryukyu Islands in Japan. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by an abexopodal seta and 3 exopodal setae on A2, a barbed inner seta on the proximal, endopodal segment of female P1 to P3, setae of the caudal ramus (setae I and II are very small, and the basal seta is transformed to a big spine), and modified inner setules of P2 enp-2 and P3 enp-2 in the males. The new species belongs to the ignavus-group established by Kunz (1994) and is the third species of the genus Leptocaris in East Asia.

A Government grant by the Royal Society enabled me to spend the months of August and September of 1889, in the investigation of unknown or obscure points in the marine algæ, in the Laboratory of the Marine Biological Association, Plymouth. One of my chief objects was to obtain such material of the various members of the Gigartinaceæ, of Spyridia, Stenogramme, and other genera, as would permit me to make a detailed examination of the development of the fruit (cystoearp) from the earliest stage to maturity. Several of the genera required were very rare or of unknown locality, and in many cases only to be found by dredging. In searching for these, new weeds, or new localities for known weeds, were met with, and it seemed to me the notes I made would be of use to algologists. Cocks, Hore, Boswarva, Gatcombe, &c, and of late years Holmes, have combined in their work to give a very full account of the marine algæ to be met with without the use of the dredge. For twenty years Cocks, I am told, did not miss a single low tide at Plymouth (or, if not, Falmouth). Up to the present our knowledge of the weeds of Plymouth has been derived almost entirely from shore-hunting, some of the rarest weeds being described as washed ashore, so that it was a question as to whether such weeds were locally established or merely “drift” specimens. In 1867 Boswarva published his Flora of Plymouth Sound in the Transactions of the Plymouth Athenaeum, his catalogue being compiled from the discoveries of himself, Cocks, &c. This list appears word for word in the Marine Biological Association Journal, No. 2, 1888. I am permitted by Mr. Holmes to say that through a misunderstanding he is stated to give the names of eight additional species.

The following description of the reproductive organs of the oyster cannot well be understood without some acquaintance with the general anatomy of the animal. With the help of Pl. XXII, fig. 1, the most important features of its anatomy may readily be understood. It must be remembered that the valves of the oyster's shell lie right and left of the animal; that the concave valve which lies undermost in the natural position of the animal is the left valve, and the flat upper valve is the right valve. The hinge marks the dorsal border of the animal, and the opposite border is the ventral border. That side which is on the observer's right in fig. 1 is the anterior surface, and that on the left hand is the posterior surface. As the animal is compressed from side to side the anterior and posterior surfaces are very narrow. The great adductor muscle, by which the valves of the shell are closed, is seen lying in the centre of the animal in fig. 1.

In tow-nettings from Plymouth Sound, June 20th, 1935, Acartia clausi were abundant and inside these copepods, emerging from them and free in the water were very large numbers of larval trematodes, easily identified as Hemiurus communis. This is not a new record, for this parasite has already been described from the same Copepod in Plymouth waters in May and February (Lebour, 1923), but it has always been rare. In no case have more than two parasitised specimens been seen from these regions, and no seasonal appearance has been noticed. Much has been written about these trematodes which grow in the bodies of copepods until they are of such a large size that they inevitably kill the host and just before it dies emerge from between the joints, if not eaten before this with the copepod, but I think this is the first time that they have been recorded in any quantity at one time. Since my first communication Steuer (1928) has written about the geographical distribution of these hemiurids parasitising copepods and is of the opinion that all those in Northern seas belong to Hemiurus lühei and H. communis. In the Mediterranean the hemiurids known have not yet been found in copepods but usually in Sagitta, or are found living freely in the sea and these probably belong to H. rugosus which lives in the adult state in the pilchard.

Armina is the most species-rich genus of the Arminidae family with over 50 nominal species. Material of the genus Armina from the western Atlantic and the eastern Pacific was revised. Six species have been documented from the western Atlantic; however, we have determined that only four of them are valid: Armina muelleri, A. wattla, A. juliana and A. elongata. Also, only three out of seven species previously registered in the eastern Pacific were recognized in the present study: A. californica, A. cordellensis and Armina sp., an unnamed species. The phylogenetic analysis of 13 taxa and 17 characters was performed using the program PAUP (Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony). The Branch-and-Bound algorithm generated a 29-step tree with the following relations: (Histiomena convolvula, (Dermatobranchus sp., ((((A. californica , (A. maculata, A. muelleri)), ((A. loveni, A. neapolitana), A. wattla)), (A. cordellensis, (Armina sp., A. juliana))), (A. tigrina, A. elongata)))). The monophyletic evidence for Armina is discussed and compared to possible speciation processes similar to those found in other Opisthobranchia groups.

The aim of this study is to improve rearing device of Crepidula fornicata (Mollusca: Gastropoda) reported in the literature, by determining the best arrangement between densities and feeding frequency in reared enclosures. Optimal growth (26·4 μm d−1) and survival rates (55·1%) were obtained when larvae were reared at 500 ind l−1 and fed every two days.

The principal feature of interest in these collections is the presence of a single fine specimen of Corallium maderense. Only one other specimen of this species has hitherto been obtained, and no specimen of the family has hitherto been recorded from the Bay of Biscay

Static toxicity tests (20.5 ±1°C, 24 ±2% salinity) were run to assess the toxicity of copper to the embryonic development of Scrobicularia plana (Mollusca: Bivalvia); the end point of interest was the production of D-larvae after 48 h culture. While a nominal concentration of 10 μg Cu I1 was not found to be toxic, an EC90 (concentration preventing 90% of the experimental population from achieving the end point defined) can be set at ~20 μg Cu I1. For this end point, copper is indicated to be 16 times less toxic than the antifoulant tributyltin (TBT). Moreover, copper has probably little relation with the reported recent decline of S. plana throughout northern Europe.

New arcid species belonging to the genera Paranadara gen. nov., Acar and Asperarca (new record) are described for the western Atlantic Ocean based on shell morphology. Paranadara taludae sp. nov., Acar naturezae sp nov., Acar oliveirae sp. nov. and Asperarca tarcylae sp. nov. were collected off north-eastern Brazil between depths of 70 and 690 m, whereas Acar lepidoformis sp. nov. was dredged off the State of Rio Grande do Sul (southern Brazil) at a depth of 141 m. There are no species along the Brazilian coast that are morphologically similar to Paranadara taludae sp. nov. Acar naturezae sp. nov., Acar lepidoformis and Acar Acar oliveirae sp. nov. are similar to this genus due to shape, ligament, presence of concentric lamellae cut by radial threads, a broad dorsal area and a markedly narrowed anterior region in comparison to the posterior region, which is strongly expanded. Asperarca tarcylae sp. nov. is similar to this genus due to the presence of a small edentulous region below the umbo and smooth inner margin.

The spectral absorption of the violet pigment extracted from dried Ianthina secretion by acetone is described. The colour of the secretion adsorbed on cellulose tissue is reasonably stable for purposes of transport. The pigment does not appear to be identical with the bilidiene-protein pigments of Aplysia, or with other violet molluscan pigments. The pigment of Ianthina shell is not extractable with acid, and all save that of the pellicle disappears on decalcification.

This communication presents the first records of mated female Loligo gahi in Falkland Island waters. In October 1993 fully mature mated female L. gahi were identified in samples taken from the commercial fishery in waters east of Lively Island, East Falkland, at depths of 145–174 m. Spermatophores were found in both the mantle cavity and buccal sites of deposition. These records, combined with past records of spent females, suggest spawning periods in late October/early November and April/May. These concur with two of the three periods of spawning suggested from previous studies of juvenile and adult L. gahi.

As an inherent function of a community, body-size spectrum has been increasingly used as a useful indicator in global ecological research. The colonization dynamics of biofilm-dwelling protozoa with regard to body-size spectrum were studied based on a 1-month baseline survey in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. Samples were collected at time intervals of 1, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21 and 28 days from depths of 1 and 3 m. A total of seven body-size ranks were identified based on a trait hierarchy. The individual abundance of the protozoa at each body-size rank was well fitted to the logistic model equation. The body-size spectra showed a clear shift in probability density during the colonization period at both depths. The multivariate approach demonstrated that the temporal dynamics in body-size spectra of the protozoa may be divided into initial (1 day), transitional (3–7 days) and stable (10–28 days) stages during the colonization period. These results provide useful information for ecological research and monitoring programmes using biofilm-dwelling protozoa in marine ecosystems.

A three year study was undertaken during 2002 to 2004 from May to September to estimate abundance and density of harbour porpoises on the north coast of Anglesey, Wales, UK. There were no ecological data regarding the harbour porpoises in Anglesey waters so the ability to influence conservation measures was highly constrained.

Boat based transects using distance sampling techniques were applied so a robust estimate of density and abundance could be attained. The study area consisted of a block approximately 489 km2 extending from the east of Point Lynas to the west of South Stack on north coast of Anglesey. The study area was divided into 5 blocks consisting of 31 perpendicular transect lines to the shore. Each of the transect lines were surveyed 1–5 times by the end of the three year study.

Based on the assumption that g(0) = 1 the density of harbour porpoises for the 489 km2 study site was estimated to be 0.630 individuals/km2 (CV = 0.20) and the abundance is estimated to be 309 individuals (CV = 0.20). Heterogeneity in density and abundance was observed across the 5 blocks which showed Point Lynas and South Stack to have the highest densities. This distribution was closely associated to fine-scale oceanographic features which cause prey to be concentrated and may facilitate foraging for harbour porpoises. The study showed that Anglesey provides coastal habitats for the harbour porpoise and was the first study of this kind in North Wales, UK.

Baited trap or pot fisheries are considered to have relatively few wider ecosystem effects on the marine environment, particularly when compared with towed mobile fishing gear. However, this assumption is rarely tested in the field. This study aimed to determine the composition of non-target species that occur in crustacean pots and to assess spatial and temporal differences in catches in the waters around the Isle of Man, Irish Sea. The data were collected using fishery independent surveys and a questionnaire study. Based on fishery independent surveys, a total of five taxonomic groups and 43 species occurred as by-catch. The dominant by-catch species was velvet crab Necora puber. The by-catch per unit effort (BPUE) for all of the non-target species was low particularly in comparison to towed bottom gear fisheries around the Isle of Man. BPUE of species composition varied considerably between different locations around the Isle of Man. The results of both the fishery independent and questionnaire data suggested that the by-catch rates varied with season with peak BPUE occurring in spring which then declined into autumn and winter. By-catch composition did not decrease significantly with an increasing target species catch. Overall, by-catch was low relative to target species catch which may be partially attributable to the use of escape panels in pot fisheries in the Isle of Man.

Gnathiid isopods are one of the most common fish ectoparasites, and are found in both temperate and tropical oceans. On coral reefs, gnathiids are most active at dusk and dawn, and contribute significantly to trophic dynamics, as they are a prey resource for cleaner fish and parasitize numerous fishes. Gnathiids also inhabit temperate intertidal waters, but their activity patterns and contribution to intertidal trophic dynamics remain unstudied. To provide the first ecological data on temperate intertidal gnathiid activity patterns, 172 gnathiid-free Clinus superciliosus were set in an intertidal system in Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa, during early morning, morning, afternoon, early evening, and evening, high and low tide, and within the inter- and infra-tidal zone to examine gnathiid infestation levels. After exposure, gnathiids from each fish were identified to the species level, counted, and their developmental stage was recorded. All gnathiids were identified as Gnathiia africana. On average, 1 ± 5SD gnathiids were collected from each fish, and the majority of gnathiids collected were stage 1. Significantly more gnathiids were collected during morning and afternoon compared with all other time periods. The number of gnathiids collected was not influenced by the fish's exposure to high or low tide, or placement within the tide zone. Although G. africana is free from cleaner fish predation because cleaner fish do not reside in temperate intertidal habitat, G. africana abundance is surprisingly small. Future studies should examine what regulates G. africana population size and the role they play in temperate intertidal food webs.

The presence of potentially toxic elements (PTE) was determined in different tissues of five selected marine organisms. The As, Cd, Cu, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations were measured in the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa, the green alga Cladophora echinus, the red alga Gelidiella lubrica, the marine topshell Phorcus turbinatus and the littoral crab Carcinus aestuarii, as well as in seawater from Makirina Bay. The levels of As, Cd, Cu, Mn and Zn in the biota were found to exceed those in previously analysed sediments, indicating the bioaccumulation of these PTE. The biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) and concentration factor (CF) varied among different organisms. As regards the five selected species, C. nodosa, C. echinus and G. lubrica proved to be the strongest accumulators of Mn, while P. turbinatus and C. aestuarii showed a high capacity to accumulate As, Cd, Cu and Zn. These species can be considered as good ecological indicators in the assessment of PTE pollution in marine littoral environments.

The seasonal variation and spatial distribution of chaetognaths were studied based on samples collected from July to August 2006 (summer), December 2006 to January 2007 (winter), and in April 2007 (spring) on the north-west continental shelf of the South China Sea. A total of 19 species of chaetognaths were identified. The average chaetognath abundances (mean ±SD) were 54.0 ± 44.5, 36.8 ±16.7 and 48.9 ± 95.5 ind. m−3 in summer, winter and spring, respectively. Flaccisagitta enflata and Serratosagitta pacifica were the dominant species during the whole sampling period, and F. enflata determined the spatial distribution of total chaetognath abundance. According to the topography and hydrological conditions, the survey area was divided into three sub-regions: inshore waters of the western Guangdong (Region I), inshore waters to the east of Hainan Island (Region II) and offshore waters from the western Guangdong to Hainan Island (Region III). The community structure and abundance distribution of chaetognaths varied significantly between the three sub-regions. The species richness was significantly different among the three sub-regions, with the lowest in Region I and the highest in Region III. The species richness was correlated positively with temperature and salinity. The abundance of chaetognaths was significantly higher in Region I than in both Regions II and III in summer and spring. The increasing food availability caused by the cold eddy, coastal upwelling and the western Guangdong coastal current was able support a greater abundance of chaetognaths during warm seasons on the north-west continental shelf of the South China Sea.